Capita Symonds, our property
consultancy business, is part of
the inspiredspaces consortium
that is playing a key role in
Nottingham City Council’s
Building Schools for the Future
(BSF) programme.
In the first wave of this £208m
programme in Nottingham,
we are helping to create 8
inspiring new schools through
a combination of new build,
refurbishment and remodelling.
How can you help school students truly reach their potential?
Try improving their learning environment. The Government’s Building
Schools for the Future (BSF) programme aims to improve the life
chances of 3.3 million children by making school buildings more
effective places in which to learn – and teach.
In Nottingham, for example, we are using our expertise in architecture
to change the way education is delivered. At Big Wood School we have
created 4 ‘learning clusters’ for the principal subject areas. They share
a central courtyard and amphitheatre, and each also has its own
outdoor learning space – including an area of natural habitat for
science and humanities.
In place of cellular classrooms linked by corridors, a flexible suite of
rooms and breakout spaces adapts to make formal or informal study
areas for 1, 5, 10, 30, 60 or 90 students. There are standard-sized
classrooms too – with sliding dividers so they can be combined.
These ‘diverse and agile spaces’ result from consultations with
managers, teachers and pupils. They are allowing teachers to take a
more imaginative approach to timetabling, bringing departments
together and developing collaborative learning that explores the
overlaps between different subjects. Teachers are enjoying the chance
to rethink what they do, and to vary the pattern of teaching in
60–minute blocks.
It’s a journey they’ve only just begun. But already they are reporting
improved behaviours and higher aspirations among their pupils.
Which is exactly what BSF set out to achieve.